I lived in Pennsylvania for a number of years, on a number of occasions. I fished...a lot. Eaten catfish out of muddy water, no problem. However, back in the seventies, a company dumped thousands of gallons of kepone, used in pesticides, I believe, into Big Spring Creek, near State College/Bellefonte. It poisoned most of the fish, and the few that remained were considered extremely unsafe to eat. Devastated one of the most beautiful, pristine limestone creeks in the state. Find out what kind of dirty the water is before you drop a line.

I'm going to go fishing in a river that sposininly dirty and murky and mucky, Anyways some day don't eat the fish you catch out the river because of of it being dirty, I say horse pucky, I mean if you clean it well, you cook it well, You should be able to be Ok.

Does everyone agree or disagree?

Mmmm - go fishing, catch the fish, count them up and then, THROW THEM BACK into the dirty, murky and mucky water!

If you would not drink the water in which the fish swim, then why eat the fish from the water that you would not drink? After all, what do you think passes through the gills and body of the fish you are catching in the "dirty and murky and mucky" water?

About those contaminants; It is believed by many that the fatty portions of fish store most of the contaminants found in fish. Until relatively recently (within the last year or so), I believed the same thing. Careful research, and becoming friends with a biologist, who just happens to love fly fishing, has taught me more accurate accurate information. Some toxins, such as PCB's (a substance used in large electric transformers by the power companies) are indeed stored in the fatty tissues, including the dark areas such as directly under the dorsal fin and along the belly in tuna and salmonids. Mercury and other heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, etc., are stored in the muscle tissue. And so, the toxic substances found in the water you will be fishing in will help determine prep techniques, and which fish are safe to eat, and what quantity is safe. As a general rule, the higher you go in the food chain, the greater is the accumulation of toxins. Muskies are the top predator in the Great Lakes and contain the highest amount of toxins; while less predatory fish such as whitefish, perch, and smelt are virtually free of toxins. I can eat as many perch as I desire, withing reason of course, and know that I am safe. But if I eat members of the pike family, or even many of the trout or salmon family, depending in what waters I catch them in, I need to watch my consumption. If I eat only deep water Lake Superior fish, I am eating very safe fish. But If I eat from many of the inland lakes, since they are generally more contaminated, the fish contain more toxins.

And remember, not all toxins are introduced by people. There are microbial nasties that will get you plenty sick if you don't cook yoru fish properly. Also, minerals such as mercury and lead occur naturally in many places and are absormed as methyl mercury and lead by plants, which are eaten by fish, which are eaten by larger fish, and thus, contamination is present in what appears to be a pristine body of water.

Check with your local fish and game experts. Adn do some careful study about fish contamination. There is more info on the WWW than you would believe. And if you are of a scientific background, then there are professional documents that you may be interested in reading as well.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

__________________“No amount of success outside the home can compensate for failure within the home…"

Gadzooks, actually the brown trout thrived in Spring Creek after the Mirex contamination. The population flourished and even the mayflies seemed to do a little better since the no-kill regs were put on Spring Creek. Eating a fish out of that creek though is a horse of a different color. A lot of it would depend if you are done spawning or not. Pre-spawn humans need to be careful. Listen to the local wildlife agencies and heed those warnings.

A few years ago a biologist told the tale of trying to detect PCB action limits in fish in Lake Ontario. They fed a whole fish into the "Bassomatic" and when it was properly homogenized they analyzed a sample for PCBs. They were above the limit. Next they filleted a fish, homogenized the fillets and sampled. The PCBs were lower but still above the action limit. Then they deep fried the fillets and again sampled. The PCBs were well below the action limit. They then sampled the deep fryer oil and found they had to dispose of it as a hazardous waste.

Good luck to the brothers and sisters of the angle. Heading out next week for a week of r&r trout fishing with maybe some crappie and perch thrown in. Hope for good weather, good mayflies, good friends, good food, fine scotch and a couple of good cigars.

Soaking the fillets in water, milk or buttermil can hhelp that. A lot depends on when the fish was harvested, how long it was in the store etc. It's been a while since I cooked catfish but I think the last time I soaked them in water and a couple of drops of lemon juice in the refirgerator for a couple of hours. Then I breaded and fried them. I don't know what I am doing in the office today. After writing that and thinking about those golden brown fillets I want to grab the road and head to the river.

I know this is a little past prime discussion, but I'd recommend looking at the recommendations for eating salt water fish that might contain mercury. The Govt warns against eating tuna more so than salmon. I believe part of it is the fatty build up mentioned earlier and also the age of the fish. Some fish get big relatively fast, so you could catch and eat a young big fish that has only had 1 year to accumulate a toxin in its body, while a small old fish might have been marinating in a given toxin for 10 years.